1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hollow extrudate consisting of long belt-shaped members produced by extrusion and having a hollow portion.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Extrudates made of long belt-shaped members are generally adopted in a variety of application fields. For example, a long belt-shaped windshield molding is installed around the periphery of windshield glass mounted in the windshield frame opening of the body panels of motor vehicles. More precisely, a long, continuous belt-shaped space is formed between the periphery of the windshield glass and the edge of the windshield frame opening; the support leg of the windshield molding is inserted into this space and a decorative portion is provided on the outside edge of the support leg to cover said space from the outside. Furthermore, door moldings or weather strips are mounted on the edge corresponding to the waist line or sash of vehicle outer door plates, and bumper moldings are mounted on bumper outer faces.
To achieve weight reduction, resource conservation, sealing property improvement, etc., it has been proposed in the past that these various extrudates made of long belt-shaped members be provided with hollow portions. Examples include Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.6114/1984, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 163413/1987, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.172632/1988.
However, for conventional hollow extrudate featuring a hollow portion for weight reduction, etc., the rigidity of the extrudate itself, that is, its form-retaining property is reduced, with the result that the hollow extrudate is prone to displacement from its mounted position and form after mounting, or is prone to deformation. For example, a windshield molding containing a hollow portion is prone to being displaced from its mounted position on the windshield frame opening in the glass width direction or is prone to being crushed and deformed at the curved corners. If a molding is displaced from its mounted position or deformed, the hollow portion may be projected to the outside, the apparent width of the molding may vary, and the load on the hollow portion may be difficult to predict.
In order to eliminate the above-noted problems, the weather strips described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.169762/1991, Japanese Utility Model Publication No.4622/1989, and others are provided with reinforcing spacers inserted inside their hollow portions. It is, however, difficult to insert spacers at a specified position inside an elastic hollow portion both accurately and efficiently. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.143715/1987 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No.139423/1982 have proposed the installation of a stabilizer to keep the item in place. Such a stabilizer is essentially unnecessary and simply increases the number of parts.